258 



DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY. 



a great height. It is onlj^ on leaving a rock that a few strokes are requisite to 

 attain the necessary Impulse, after which, with primaries bent upward by the force 

 of the air, it performs its stately evolutions by soaring only. In alighting, the 

 bird drops its legs some distance from the rock, and, sailing to within a few yards, 

 it checks its velocity by two or three heavy strokes of the wings." The griffon 

 invariably nests on rocks, and in the south of Europe probably lays in February, 



bCppell's vulture {\ nat. size). 



as young ones are commonly found in most nests early in April. During incuba- 

 tion one bird sits constantly, and, if driven off, immediately returns. The nest is 

 an immense structure composed entirely of sticks ; and it is common to find from 

 two to six nests placed near together. In the case of the Himalayan species, at 

 anyrate, but one ^g^ is laid in each nest ; the ground-colour being greyish white, 

 upon which there may or may not be dark markings. In some cases the Himalayan 

 griffon takes possession of the nest of an eagle, before its rightful owners have 

 thought about breeding. Gifted with the power of undergoing looag fasts, the 



